This invention relates generally to a manufacturing system for printing paper blanks on both faces thereof and then folding or otherwise processing the printed blank to form a finished piece, and more particularly to a system for producing a two-way mailer assembly constituted by a single blank which is formed into superposed panels that not only define pre-addressed forwarding and return envelopes but also a printed statement and a return stub to accompany payment, making it possible for a company to forward to a customer a statement of charges and for the customer to remit to the company.
It is customary for a large company such as a telephone company, an electric power utility, a large department store, or for that matter any other commercial facility which sells goods or renders services to a multiplicity of customers to bill each customer on a monthly or other periodic basis.
It has heretofore been the practice for the company to enclose a statement of charges in a forwarding envelope addressed to the customer. The statement is generally in the form of a card having a transverse perforation forming a stub identifying the account and the amount owing. Also inserted in this envelope is a return envelope for payment, as well as advertising folders and other types of material relating to the company's business. The customer receiving this pack of material is expected to send back his payment check and the stub section of the statement in the return envelope.
While the preparation of bills for customers and the addressing of the forwarding envelopes are now carried out by high-speed computer techniques, it has heretofore been necessary to employ special machines for stuffing the forwarding envelope with the return statement of charges, the return envelope and the other material forming the pack. This is not only a time-consuming and costly operation, but because of machine or human error, it gives rise to troublesome mistakes.
In the above-identified copending application, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a two-way mailer assembly created from a single rectangular paper blank that is indented, perforated and folded to create four superposed panels, defining a forwarding envelope and return envelope as well as a statement of charges, a return stub and a duplicate return stub, the components of the assembly being separable from each other.
A significant advantage of this two-way mailer is that the printed statement of charges for the customer and the stub to be sent back to the company are not separate inserts but form components of the assembly that are severable therefrom by the receiving customer, the customer retaining the statement and inserting the return stub and his remittance in the return envelope. The two-way mailer disclosed in the copending application lends itself to use in conjunction with computer-controlled direct-image printing ink-jet transfer apparatus for imprinting the customer addresses, the statement of charges and all other necessary data.
Inasmuch as the statement of charges and other data relevant to a particular account must be imprinted on one face of the blank, and addresses and other information relevant to the same account must be imprinted on the other face, this creates a major problem in producing the two-way mailer at high speed and at relatively low cost when using ink-jet printing heads or computer-controlled printers which function in a similar manner.
An ink-jet printing head is adapted to project ink downwardly onto paper; hence printing can only be carried out with the paper passing below the head. When, therefore, a given blank is imprinted on one face, it must be turned over to effect printing on the other face. The obvious arrangement for this purpose is a set-up employing two printing heads, one for each face, the blank being reversed after it leaves the first head and before entering the second head.
But apart from the fact that ink-jet printers are expensive and the need for two printing heads adds substantially to the overall cost of the system, the use of two printers introduces other complications. The printers are responsive to data derived from a computer, and, since data relating to a given account must be imprinted in part by one printer and in part by the other, the operation of the two printers must be carefully coordinated to be sure that the data imprinted by the second printer on the opposite face of a given blank is related to the same account.
Moreover, since one must associate with the input of each printing head an alignment mechanism for the blank, a separate alignment mechanism is required in conjunction with each printing head.